ODESSA, Texas — It has been nearly 28 years since Manuel and Merced Aguirre were brutally murdered, and Michael 'Spider' Gonzales was set to be executed for the murders on March 8.
Given the recent stay of execution, it has been put on hold for the time being.
It has been a long 28 years for the Aguirre family. While one family member said that this stay of execution, now the second for Gonzales, was not entirely unexpected, it's led to them wonder if they will ever get the justice that their parents deserve.
The Aguirre family was very close to getting that closure.
"I want him to see us at his execution," Rick Aguirre, son of Manuel and Merced Aguirre, said.
Aguirre was ready to face Michael Gonzales at the execution, but now he doesn't know when that will happen.
"We’re disappointed, upset over the stay of execution," Aguirre said. "We're six weeks away from it being 28 years since they were murdered, and it doesn’t seem like we’re ever going to get justice for our parents. I have gotten texts and phone calls from friends and family members throughout Texas now that have heard it, and everyone is upset."
Aguirre said this most recent ruling is just a last-ditch effort to push off the execution.
"I do believe it’s their tactic to stall as much as they can, and I mean, he’s gotten so many appeals, so many court hearings, everything, that by now everything has been covered," Aguirre said. "I think it’s just his attempt to try and stall even more."
There have been half a dozen appeals and two stays of execution granted. Working toward justice has been a long and winding road, a road now with seemingly no end in sight.
"We’re tired of going through this as a family," Aguirre said. "We would like for it to be over with. We have gone through the whole process, and still every time, we are disappointed. To me, it seems that Michael is given more emphasis than the victims, which were our parents, like they’re pushed to the side."
Gonzales will remain on death row in the meantime, and his conviction still stands while the case continues to get hashed out.